George hadfield



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Beit knownthat I,:GEoR cn HADFIELD, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county,`0hio,uhave invented a new and useful Improvement in Medica-l Vacuum Apparatus; and I herebyl declare the .following to' be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specication.

This is an improvement in the class of devices employed by physicians to temporarily relieve alimb or other large'portion of thehnman body from atmospheric pressure; and consists, first, in a construction of the receiver or vacuum chamber which facilitates its use with paralytic and other inrm persons, and which also enables it to be readily transported -from place to place; and secondly, in the provision of' a peculiarly formed 'air-tightl cloak. adapted to entirely env'elop the receiver proper and head of the .'patient g and my invention especially relates to such medical vacuum chambers as are designedlfor application to the entire person, the head excepted.

Figure l` represents my receiver in `its open condition to receive the patient. Figure 2shoWs-the same closed and in conditionfo'r use. The receiver proper consists essentially of a-base, A, which may be olf circular or oval'form, and two 'conoidal shells or sides, B C, of which one side, B, is permanently attached to and forms one-piece with the base, while the other side, C, is hinged, c, to the fixed side B, so that it can be opened therefrom, as seen in 55.71, so as to enable the patient to easily enter or be conducted into the receiver .on the ground level. That portion of -the shells B C nearest to the back of the patient rises vertically or almost vertically upward, Vand curves abruptly forward as it approaches the top, while the opposite portion curves rearward from the base. The shells B C .have semicircular openings,I F'F, which,`in the closed condition,` unit to constitute a round orice that encircles the. neck of the patient and permits `the head to remain outside, as seen in iig.' 2. The dimensions and form of the s hells are designed to conveniently accommodate the patient in a sitting position with `economy .of material and the greatest'practicable restriction oi' the internal capacity of chamber to be exhausted. The base A is `surroundedby a groove, D, for a purpose -that will presently. appear. Casters, E, may be provided on-the under side of the base to enable the apparatus to be readily shifted from place to place. The receiver proper may be formed of any suitable' materialnbut my practice has been to make the base of wood and the sides of tinned or zinclred sheet iron, stifi'ened by ribs of the same material. The patient may be supported ou anylconvenient chair orv stool, which may be eitherA separate or be permanently secured to the base, and' such chair may have its seat capable of vertical adjustment, as seenin g.1'. G is a pipe which extends from the interior of 'the receiver quite through the base, and connects by iiexible tube, H, o r oth'erwise, with the suction of an air-pump.l This pipe may have a cock, I, to open and close communication with the airpump, and a cock, J, to admit air from .the outside, so as partially or wholly to restore the atmospheric pressure within the receiver. In order to eifectnally exclude the external air, independently of any tightness of the joints of the receiver, I provide a peculiarly formed.cloak,`L, oi' India rubber or other ilexibleaud impervious material, so shaped as to snugly envelope the receiver. The skirt of ythis cloak is held tightly to the grooved pcriphery of the base by means of an elastic cord or band, M.l The cloak L is surmounted by a hood or cap, N, which snugly envelope the head of the patient, and has an aperture, n, that' leaves the face and breathing organs free.

I have selected to illustrate my invention a form approved by actual use, but reserve the privilege ci" obtaining the same results by any means substantially equivalent for example, both shells may be removableand may rest each one independently upon the base, and an elastic band may be applied around the cap or hood for more eiectual exclusion of the air, while on the other hand the separate band M may be dispensed with by making the skirt 'of the cloak-suiiiciently elastic to tightly grasp the periphery ci the base.

I am aware that the practice of relieving portions of thel human body from atmospheric pressure in the treatment of diseases is of many years standing, but the appliances heretofore proposed, especially when designed for the body proper or trunk, have been of limited practicability, because too bulky to be moved from place toplace, or too diilicult of access for paralytics and other crippled and disabled persons. I therefore disclaim thc invention of such appliances apart from my specific' improvements; but I claim herein as new and of my invention#- 1. The medical vacuum chamber or receiver, composed of several separable parts, A, B, and C, so as to be masa accessible from the gr'oundvlevel; inthe described. combination `with an impervious and -ilexible envelope, L N, adapted to tightly` invest the receiver ,and the head` of the' patient, substantially as set forthJ 2. The receiver proper, consisting ofthe circumferentially Agroin/'ed base A, through which the exhaust tube passes; a side portion, B, fixed to said base, and a movable side'portionfC, hinged to the ixed side, as described. I

3. In the described combination, I claim the eircumferentially grooired base and elastic band M, for securing the lower edge of the cloak or envelope, as set forth.

4. The flexible air-tight: envelope, consisting of the cloak Lcap or hood N, and elastic band M, for the purpose explained. Y'

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my' hand. Y

' GEORGE HADFELD.

Witnesses:`

GEO* H. KNIGHT, 'EAMES H; LAYMAN. 

